With Kiffin as Coordinator, the Cowboys Are Hunting for Turnovers

IRVING, Tex. — Monte Kiffin looked impossibly fresh and enthusiastic after a recent practice in heat approaching 100 degrees. He promptly greeted reporters with a septuagenarian energy rush that surely had to subside into a nap at some point.

“What do you say gang, huh?” Kiffin said. “We doing good? A little hot out there. Were you inside or outside?”

At 73, Kiffin appears indefatigable in his return to the N.F.L. as the defensive coordinator for the Dallas Cowboys after four seasons in the college ranks. He is two years older than his boss, the team owner Jerry Jones. Kiffin is 40 years older than quarterback Tony Romo, at 33 the oldest Cowboy on the roster.

And with the Cowboys taking on the Giants in Sunday night’s season opener, players say morale and confidence have been lifted by Kiffin, a coach old enough to be their grandfather.

“If you close your eyes, you will forget his age,” cornerback Brandon Carr said. “You can just see the passion for the game oozing out of him every time he talks. His antics, everything that he says and does, he keeps you engaged.”

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The Dallas assistant Monte Kiffin worked with his son, Lane, for four seasons in college.CreditGus Ruelas/Associated Press

Kiffin has been entrusted with rejuvenating a defense tarnished by meltdowns against N.F.C. East rivals, especially late last season, and reintroducing the Cowboys to the concept of causing turnovers. The Cowboys’ defense had only 16 takeaways last season — its seven interceptions were tied with the Kansas City Chiefs for the fewest in the N.F.L. — and was ranked 27th in turnover differential.

“That’s what makes it weird, but great at the same time,” linebacker Bruce Carter said. “There’s his age, and he acts like he’s 20. You don’t want to be in defensive meetings all bored. Guys are buying into his system and what he’s preaching.”

Fittingly, Kiffin has brought back the 4-3 Cover 2 alignment that created havoc among opponents during his 13 years with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. On the surface, it will be a major shift from the complex, read-oriented 3-4 defense instituted by the former coordinator Rob Ryan, who was fired.

The Cowboys, though, played down any difficulty in switching systems and sounded more comfortable under Kiffin than Ryan. Kiffin’s style demands an instinctive approach and a focus on turnovers, which has kept the Cowboys buzzing in meeting rooms and on the practice field.

“Just get it and go,” Carr said. “Take out the room to think about it.”

Carr added: “A lot of gray has been taken out. The mentality has changed. They’ve been pounding and beating it into us since they stepped foot inside these doors and our first meeting as far as effort and hustling to the ball and creating and forcing those turnovers.”

Defensive tackle Jason Hatcher said: “We had the right personnel in place to do it. It was a grind, coming from a 3-4 where you’re just kind of reading blocks, and a 4-3 where you’re kind of penetrating first. So you had to reprogram yourself to playing fast and hitting gaps and just getting to the football.”

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Monte Kiffin spent 13 years with the Buccaneers and has taken the 4-3 Cover 2 alignment to Dallas.CreditPhil Coale/Associated Press

The Cowboys had three takeaways in their previous three games against the Giants, whose defense totaled nine turnovers in those meetings. Dallas also could not capitalize with a big play in last season’s finale against the Washington Redskins, failing to create a turnover in a 28-18 loss that ended its playoff hopes.

Injuries along the defensive line have further complicated the debut of Kiffin’s system. Left end Anthony Spencer and the backup tackle Ben Bass are hurt and were not expected to play against the Giants. Tackles Jay Ratliff and Tyrone Crawford were shelved during training camp. “We just got to make do,” Kiffin said. “When you play Sunday night, and there’s 11 guys out there, you’re a starter, and you’ve got to play like a starter. That’s why you signed on.”

Kiffin’s arrival caused Giants quarterback Eli Manning to dig through film archives of Kiffin’s 4-3 defenses with the Buccaneers.

Manning said this week that he also looked at game footage of the University of Southern California, where Kiffin coached under his son Lane for the past three seasons. Previously, the father-son duo worked together for a season at Tennessee.

“Those guys know us; that’s no secret,” Kiffin said of Manning and his brother Peyton.

Kiffin’s fiery nature keeps him in continual motion on the practice field, and he throws around old-school terms — slobberknocker being a favorite. The players, at first, had a hard time deciphering his rapid-fire, gravelly delivery.

“He wanders back and forth, in and out, checking on every position group and every drill,” Carr said. “Anytime he gets a chance to get in front of the board in a meeting, or outside to teach us a drill or some type of technique, he’s hands on with it. You need that for a defense.

“All the heat we take around here, he’s that guy that’s always got our back and always talking positive for us.”

A version of this article appears in print on , Section D, Page 6 of the New York edition with the headline: With Kiffin as Coordinator, the Cowboys Are Hunting for Turnovers. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe